Intense combat between Congolese forces and Rwandan-backed fighters on Sunday edged closer to the major city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the UN Security Council prepared an emergency meeting.
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As the fighting intensified, both the DRC and Rwanda withdrew their diplomats from each other’s capitals.
The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have been plagued by conflicts for three decades, with the Rwandan-backed M23 emerging as one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years.
M23 has seized vast swathes of the east of the DRC since 2021, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis.
After peace talks between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC’s Félix Tshisekedi were cancelled in mid-December, M23 fighters backed by several thousand Rwandan troops quickly advanced towards Goma, the capital of North Kivu and a city that is home to more than a million people.
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In the city centre, heavy detonations have been echoing since dawn on Sunday, according to media correspondents in Goma.